Environment
Need some good news about the environment? The Optimist Daily is your go-to herald of positive environmental news, highlighting eco-friendly solutions and scientific progress around climate action, circularity, conservation, and more. Learn about everything eco in our Environment section.
Memphis turned its parks named after Confederate generals into inclusive spaces
Two years ago, a crane arrived at a park in downtown Memphis and took down a statue of Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy during the Civil War, as a crowd watched and cheered. Now, after a two-year legal battle about the statue’s removal, the park, once known as Confederate Park, Read More...
Dogs are helping conservationists preserve endangered species
Dogs and their sensitive noses are known for finding people during search and rescue efforts, sniffing out drugs and even diseases like cancer. Something they're lesser known for is their ability to act as a radar for finding endangered animals. To do that, dogs are being trained to identify the Read More...
Peatlands store vast amounts of carbon, which is why Scotland is restoring them
The burning Amazon rainforests, with their jaguars, monkeys, and colorful birds, have grabbed global attention in a way the destruction of the world's mossy peatlands never has. Yet protecting the world's peatlands, which store at least twice as much carbon as forests, is critical in the fight Read More...
Bristol might soon be the first city in the UK to ban diesel cars
While London has been busy implementing restrictions on gas-powered cars, the city of Bristol wants to take it one step further by banning diesel cars from the city center. That would make it the first UK city to implement such a ban. Under the city council’s proposals, diesel vehicles will be Read More...
Even Denny's is taking part in the plant-based meat movement
Two years ago you would have never expected the world's fast-food restaurants to start serving plant-based meat, but now they're all jumping onto the bandwagon one after another. Restaurants such as KFC, Burger King, and McDonald’s have all adopted meat alternatives to their fast-food classics. Read More...
New livestock diet uses agri-waste to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
The burning of agricultural waste and the methane that's burped up by cows are two major sources of greenhouse gases. An experimental new type of animal feed, however, is aimed at reducing both the burning and the burps. Developed by scientists at Spain’s Polytechnic University of Valencia, the Read More...
Music festivals are leading to sustainable-living experiments
Go to the grounds of a music festival after it comes to a close, and you’ll think you just arrived at the scene of an apocalypse with all the plastic that gets left behind. It’s the unfortunate downside of music festivals, which have become increasingly popular over the last few years. In fact, Read More...
New York City to get 250 miles of protected bike lanes in move to improve safety
There are nearly 800,000 people who cycle the streets of New York regularly. But due to the city’s lack of adequate road infrastructure for bicycles, safety remains a serious issue for many riders and potential cyclists. Now that’s set to change as the city council gets prepared to build Read More...
How a team of goats saved the Ronald Reagan library from wildfires
Back in April, a squadron of 500 goats was released on the lands that surround Ronald Reagan Presidential Library near Los Angeles. Why? To munch their way through around 13 acres of scrubland around the library that could’ve provided tinder-like fuel to a wildfire--one that would arrive some 7 Read More...
Greta Thunberg declines environmental prize: ’The climate doesn’t need awards’
We already knew that Greta Thunberg was the coolest teenager around, but she proved it once again this week after refusing to accept a “prestigious” environmental award. The young climate activist had won the Nordic Council’s annual environment prize, which comes with a prize sum of 350,000 Read More...